Mobile machines are in widespread use in construction, mining, forestry, and other similar industries. These machines frequently have a track-type ground-engaging system rather than wheels. The undercarriage of such track-type machines includes track assemblies to provide ground-engaging propulsion. Such track assemblies may be preferred in applications where creating sufficient traction is problematic. Rather than rolling across a work surface on wheels, track-type machines utilize one or more track assemblies that include a loop of coupled track links defining exterior surfaces, which may themselves comprise, or be coupled to components that comprise, ground-engaging track shoes, and interior surfaces that travel about one or more rotatable track-engaging elements, such as, drive sprockets, idlers, tensioners, and rollers, for example, all of which may be considered to comprise the undercarriage of the track-type machine.
These track-type machines can be subjected to extremely harsh conditions which tend to put extreme wear on the undercarriage of the track-type machine. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for the undercarriage of a track-type machine (or components thereof) to require replacement from time to time. Specifically, it is known to service or replace a machine component, for example, when the component exceeds its expected lifetime (based on the age of the component or number of hours of in service use experienced by the component). Part wear can also be estimated using the material properties of the part.
Should a component fail while in service, a variety of problems can follow. For example, the failure of the component can cause the machine to be inoperable until it is repaired. The stalled machine may be in a position in which other machines cannot pass by the stalled machine to reach a part of the work site in which the other machines are needed. The stalled machine may be in a location where the machine is not easily accessible to perform the required maintenance. Further, such failures are often unpredictable and can occur at a time when maintenance operators are not readily available. Accordingly, the machine may be inoperable for a longer amount of time than it would otherwise be if the maintenance occurred as part of a planned schedule. Operating a component until it fails often causes secondary failures of one or more other components that are dependent upon the failed component. Thus, failure of a single component may cause increased down time and higher operating expenses for the overall operation of the machine.
On the other hand, under some conditions, the components of a machine may not need to be serviced or maintained as frequently as is normally scheduled. Accordingly, performing the scheduled maintenance may be wasteful because the components do not yet need to be serviced.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2007/0179640 is entitled, “Environmental Monitoring System for a Machine Environment” and is directed to systems and methods for managing a machine environment based on environmental conditions associated with a machine. The method may include receiving one or more of environmental data and operation data associated with at least one machine operating at a job site associated with a machine environment. An aspect may also include determining one or more environmental conditions associated with the job site based on at least one of the environmental data and the operation data. An aspect may further include updating a project schedule based on the determined environmental conditions. There is a continued need in the art to provide additional solutions to enhance the ability to predict the service life of a component of a machine based on its actual usage at a worksite.
It will be appreciated that this background description has been created by the inventors to aid the reader, and is not to be taken as an indication that any of the indicated problems were themselves appreciated in the art. While the described principles can, in some aspects and embodiments, alleviate the problems inherent in other systems, it will be appreciated that the scope of the protected innovation is defined by the attached claims, and not by the ability of any disclosed feature to solve any specific problem noted herein.